The invention relates to a wave powered buoy generator which can be tethered to the ocean bottom and left unattended for long periods of time to produce electrical current.
Many oceanographic devices are stationed for long periods of time in the ocean for monitoring various ocean conditions, such as temperature, acoustics, or current. Some of the oceanographic devices collect and store the data while others transmit the data to remote locations. Most devices are stationed at a fixed location, such as resting on the ocean bottom or tethered from the ocean bottom to some distance thereabove.
The abovementioned oceanographic devices require a source of electrical power. Various provisions for such power are energy storage devices, self contained power supplies; or power from a ship, submarine, or shore based by a generating source, electrical generator. For some applications a better method would be to place the electrical generator in the ocean with the oceanographic equipment for direct use or with the energy storage device for indirect use by the oceanographic device. A wave powered buoy generator, designed to be placed in the ocean, would reliably produce electric current whenever there was wave motion, and can operate for extended periods of time without any maintenance.